Of Creatures and Mayhem

Chapter One - Dragons and Chimaeras

The Peruvian Vipertooth dragon was finally sleeping after putting up a monstrous fight against its new keepers. It took at least fifteen dragon keepers to tame it and put it in a cage. While normally most of the dragons at the research center were allowed to roam around, this one wasn't.

They had found the copper-colored dragon in a farmer's backfield that laid on the Bulgaria border. Keeping a Peruvian Vipertooth was highly illegal, especially since they were extremely dangerous to humans. And the following day, several dragon keepers from the Romanian research center would be returning the dragon to his native home in Peru..

Charlie Weasley continued to look at the dragon, a sense of sadness coming over him. He had helped wrestle the beast into submission but wouldn't be there to take him home. By the time the rest of the dragon keepers left in the morning, Charlie would be on his way back to England.

Deep down Charlie knew he was doing the right thing. He was needed more at home than he was in Romania but it was hard to let go of something he felt so connected to. After running his hand through his dark red hair, he pushed himself away from the fence and started back through the camp.

He knew he had nothing to worry about and that the research center would move on without him. Charlie had already trained someone to take his place, a foul mouthed woman by the name of Evelyn, who had it set in her mind that she was going to single-handedly become the best dragon keeper there.

"Hello Charlie," said his boss Dumitru Csilog, a tall Romanian that had trained him when he'd first arrived at the center, "Are you all packed?"

"Almost Dumitru," said Charlie as he gave the older man a smile.

"Do you have time to join me for a quick drink?" asked Dumitru as he gestured toward one of the tents, "I believe you might need one after wrestling with that Peruvian!" Charlie laughed and nodded his head yes.

Dumitru led him to the green tent and opened the flap so Charlie could step in. Inside was a small table that held a bottle of clear liquid. Charlie sat down on one of the chairs and rubbed his calloused hands together.

"I think it might snow tonight," he said as Dumitru joined him at the table, "I'll have to remind myself to make sure the warming lamps are on for the babies."

"Charlie," said Dumitru as he placed a hand on his freckled arm, "You no longer work here. Let someone else worry about the warming lamps."

"I still can't believe I won't be here anymore," said Charlie as Dumitru poured some of the clear liquid in a glass for him, "I'm going to miss this place."

"We're going to miss you too," said Dumitru as he raised his glass and winked, "Especially the ladies."

Charlie could feel a warm blush cover his cheeks as he looked over at the other man. He knew it was true and that several of the ladies he worked with and some from the village nearby had crushes on him. But he never really acted upon them. Sure, he'd had a few girlfriends here and there but none of them really clicked.

"I'm sure they'll be fine without me," he sheepishly said as Dumitru let out a loud laugh, his dark eyes dancing with mirth.

"I'm sure they will," said Dumitru as he slapped Charlie on the shoulder before standing, "I shall let you get to your packing. It's been a pleasure working with you and maybe our paths will cross again."

Charlie stood and took Dumitru's hand into his and shook it. "Goodbye Dumitru," he said.

"La revedere Charlie," said Dumitru as he turned and walked out, his large boots thudding against the frost-ridden ground.

Charlie downed the drink Dumitru had poured for him before leaving the tent. He stepped out into the cold Romanian night and looked around as the various cages. Most of the dragons were sleeping by then and Charlie decided that he too needed to rest.

He made his way through the camp, stopping long enough to say a few goodbyes. When he arrived at his small hut, he went inside and sparked a fire before finishing his packing. He couldn't believe that by the next night he'd be home again.

His mother had insisted that he stay at the Burrow until he found adequate living quarters. Charlie knew that the Ministry could find him some but had decided to humor his mother, especially with everything that was going on.

They were in the middle of a war with Lord Voldemort and Charlie had been asked to come home and work for the Ministry. He'd been offered a position in the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures as a department officer.

His job for the Ministry would entail being an officer that kept tabs on the illegal use of magical creatures while his job for the Order would be keeping tabs on what magical creatures Voldemort was using. He knew he'd have a partner but had been told by Dumbledore that they didn't know about the Order so Charlie had to be careful.

After placing the last of his things in a knapsack, Charlie went to his bed. He changed out of his clothes and put on a pair of wool long johns. He then climbed under the covers and fell into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning, he awoke right before the sun rose. In his groggy state, he almost got ready to go feed the dragons but stopped. Instead he showered and dressed for his journey home. And after saying his final goodbyes, he left what had been his home for the past five years.

~&~

When he arrived at the Burrow, Molly smothered him with hugs and a million questions. Charlie tried to remind her that he'd been there a few weeks back and that his life hadn't changed. But she wouldn't hear of it and kept asking questions. The only time she stopped was when it was time to make supper.

After the hefty meal, Molly made up his old room for him as Charlie had a drink with his father Arthur and brother Bill. Soon the house was quiet except for the sound of Bill's earring dangling.

"Seriously," said Charlie as he looked at his brother, "Do you need to wear that thing?"

Bill smirked at his brother and flicked the fang that was hanging from his ear. "I happen to like it," he said as he stretched his legs in front of him, "So, know who you'll be working with at the Ministry?"

"No clue," said Charlie as he sat across from Bill and looked around the study, "Just hope I don't get stuck with someone who doesn't know his or her stuff."

"I'm sure you won't," said Bill as he looked over at him, "Martha Baxter would never let an inexperienced person work in her department."

Charlie nodded, knowing that Martha, who was the head of the department he was going to work in, was strict about who worked under her. "I better get to bed. I don't want to be late on my first day of work," he said as he stood.

Bill stood also and like all of the Weasley males, he towered over Charlie. "Goodnight little brother," he said as he grabbed his shoulder, "I'll see you in the morning."

Charlie nodded and went to his room.

~&~

"Good morning Mrs. Baxter," said Charlie as he walked into the Department of Creature Regulation Officers, "I hope I'm not late."

Martha looked up from the parchment and smiled at him. She was a plump, older witch that could pass for anyone's sweet grandmother even though she was very stern. "Hello Charlie," she said in an Irish accent, "Not late at all. Have a seat! Your working mate should be back soon."

"Er... all right," said Charlie as he sat on the other side of Martha's desk, "Do you think you could tell me a bit about my working mate."

"Of course," said Martha as she adjusted her glasses, "Her name is Madison Boyer. She's been here for around two years. Excellent worker!"

Charlie furrowed his brow. He wasn't expecting his partner to be a woman. "Where is she now?" he asked.

"She's out checking into an illegal chimaera breeding ring," said Martha as she went back to her parchment, "She shall be back soon."

"Chimaeras?" asked Charlie as he raised his eyebrows and tried not to shudder. They were nasty little creatures with their lion head, small goat body and dragon tail. He remembered reading about how they killed one of his favorite Quidditch players while the poor bloke was on holiday in Greece.

"I'm afraid so," said Martha as she looked up from the parchment, "I wish people would learn that their eggs are Class A Non-Tradable Goods! If people didn't buy the eggs, then we wouldn't have a bunch of them running about."

Charlie nodded his head and was about to make a comment when the office door opened. He turned in his chair and saw a woman, in black Ministry robes, standing there.

"Ah, Madison! You made it back in one piece," said Martha as she stood up, "What happened? Did the chimaeras give you any problems?"

The woman shook her head no and let her hazel eyes fall on Charlie. "Who's this?" she asked as she looked him over, noticing most of his face was covered in freckles.

"This is Charlie Weasley," said Martha as she gestured toward him, "And Charlie, this is Madison."

"Pleasure to meet you," said Charlie as he stood and held out his hand.

Madison looked at him and wiped her muddy hand on her robe before placing it in his. She looked at his brown eyes and smiled a bit. "Pleasure to meet you also," she quietly said.

"Right then," said Martha, "Let me show you to your office. You'll be sharing one."

Charlie started to follow her as Madison stopped. She stuck her wand in her mouth as she placed her blonde hair into a loose bun. Charlie watched her for a moment before stepping in the office. "You should do something about that cut on your cheek," he said to her.

Madison ran her over fingers over the cut and gave Charlie a sly smile. She performed a quick healing spell as Martha showed Charlie the office. After she was finished, Martha quietly left.

"So... did you see any chimaeras Madison?" asked Charlie, hoping to break the silence.

"Er-- first off, it's Maddie. Only Martha and my parents plus certain law authorities are allowed to call me Madison. And yes I did since the purpose was to capture them. A bit hard to capture them without seeing them don't you think?" she said before picking up her copy of the Daily Prophet and read it as she twirled a piece of blonde hair with her index finger.

Charlie opened his mouth to speak but decided against. 'Dragons are more friendlier than she is,' he thought to himself as he glanced over at her once more before going to work on a report Martha wanted.

Most of the day was spent in silence as Charlie continued with his report and Madison did other paperwork. It was afternoon when Martha came rushing into the office, out of breath. "Some of the chimaeras you caught have escaped," she said as she looked at Madison, "You have to recapture them and make sure you lock them up right this time."

Madison deeply blushed at being scolded in front of the new person. She watched Martha leave before she turned toward Charlie. "Ready?" she asked.

"I suppose I am," said Charlie as he stood and clasped his Ministry robe together. He wasn't entirely sure about this but figured if he could control dragons then chimaeras would be easy.

"If I die," said Madison as she tied one of her boots, "Tell my mum that I did have a boyfriend and we were thisclose to getting engaged and now he's going to spend the rest of his life yearning for me."

"What?" asked Charlie as he furrowed his brow.

"Inside joke I had with my old partner. If you knew my mum, you'd understand," said Madison as she pulled open the office door.

"Sounds like my mum," smirked Charlie as he followed her out.

Madison raised her eyebrows and gave him a quick smile before leading him up a flight of stairs. At the very top was a room full of unruly chimaeras. They were jumping about and fighting each other. "Hope you're good at this," she said.

"I hope so too," muttered Charlie as he raised his wand and Madison pushed the door open. He really didn't care to die on his first day of work.